Second Chances
by miley-avril
Summary: They were all able to start a new life in Storybrooke and have a second chance. Everyone. Especially the Charming Family when they wake up to find that their twenty eight year old daughter is now a five year old. Toddler!Emma fic with Charming Family fluff. This is going to end up being different than you think (if you're thinking what I think you're thinking). T for some content.
1. Chapter 1

**I'VE BEEN WANTING TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR A WHILE, SO HERE IT IS! I'VE JUMPED ON THE TODDLER EMMA BANDWAGON. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE THIS A LITTLE LIGHT AND FUNNY, BUT ALSO ADD A BIT OF DARKNESS TO IT BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT IF THIS HAPPENED, SNOW AND JAMES WOULD BE TORN ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TO BE HAPPY ABOUT HAVING A MINI-EMMA. ALSO, I WANTED THIS TO BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER STORIES OUT THERE.**

**I DON'T OWN ONCE UPON A TIME.**

"Charming." Snow says from the living room, a panicked tone creeping into her voice. Henry's still sleeping upstairs, and she doesn't want to wake him up. In an instant, James is at her side, his own eyes widening with shock and a bit of fear.

"Is that...?" He can't form a coherent thought, let alone a full sentence that provides answers.

"That's Emma." Snow confirms, her shock wearing away. "And she's little. Really little." She sweeps her eyes over the small, sleeping form on the couch. Blonde curls tumble from the girl's head, and she's curled into the fetal position.

"What do we do?" James' first instinct is to rush over and embrace the child, but somewhere in his rattled brain, reason takes hold. To Emma, it would seem like an attack, and they don't even know if the new Emma thinks like twenty eight year old Emma. In that case, waking up to find her father holding her might seem like an invasion of personal space. Even if this new Emma acted like a child and doesn't have the old Emma's mentality, having a strange person so close would probably scare her. As if on cue, the child stirs, rubbing groggily at her eyes. Beside him, he can feel Snow tense. "Wait here." He whispers.

"Who are you!?" Emma bursts, eyes narrowing, but they still see the fear. At the high-pitched, childlike voice, the two almost laugh. At least they have one question answered: Emma has no idea who they are. "Where am I?"

"Emma?" Snow calls out hesitantly from across the room, her voice calm and reassuring.

"How do you know my name?" The blonde crosses her arms, and it's obvious to husband and wife that their daughter is already suspicious of them.

"Do you know who we are?" Snow continues, reaching for James' hand. He gladly takes it.

"No… and you didn't answer my question."

"My name is–" She hesitates, wanting to say 'Mary Margaret', since that is the name Emma is most familiar with, but this Emma doesn't know that. So, she settles for "Snow. My name is Snow."

"That's a funny name." The child comments. "Who's he?"

"I'm James." He smiles warmly.

"We'll be right back, okay, Emma?" Snow drags her husband around the corner to their room. "We should tell her." She whispers.

"Tell her what?"

"That we're her parents. She has no idea… we can tell her that we were forced to give her away, Charming. She'll forgive us, and we can raise her. We can give her the life she deserved."

"Snow, Henry's upstairs." James reasons. "How's that going to work out?"

"We can tell her he's her brother." Then, it dawns on Snow. "But he'll lose his mother."

"Exactly." He sighs and watches as Snow fights tears. He pulls her in for a long hug.

"But she's our little girl… and she's actually little."

"I know." He runs his hands through her hair. Even though they were trying to be quiet, it seems Henry woke up. He pads down the stairs, and follows Snow and James' voices.

"Hi." The boy smiles, his hair sticking up in every which way. Then he realized something is off with his grandparents. "Wait, what's wrong?" Snow and James exchange a quick glance before James says,

"Henry, your mom… well, Emma's a toddler right now, cause of magic. We're not sure why it happened, but we'll figure something out, okay?"

"Wait, Emma's a toddler?" The boy seems to be taking it much better than Snow or James expected. "Can I see her?" Before anyone can tell him 'no', he bolts into the direction he last saw Emma –the couch. "Whoa…"

"Who are you?" Little Emma demands, but coming from such a small child and her voice sounding very un-Emma-like, Henry doubles over in laughter. "Hey! Don't laugh at me."

"Emma." Henry manages to choke out. "It's me, Henry."

"She doesn't know who any of us are." Snow whispers, her and James having made their way back to their daughter and grandson.

"Oh." The boy's face falls. "She doesn't?"

"No." James sighs.

"Hi, Emma." Henry says softly, taking a seat on the couch next to his mother. "My name's Henry."

"You already told me that." The girl huffs.

"I know, but just in case you didn't catch it the first time." He turns to face James. "Gramps, do I have to go to school today?"

"I think that would be best." The older man says. "Why don't you get ready?"

"Okay." He says after a moment. He gives Emma one last glance before getting up and trotting up the stairs.

"Emma, are you hungry or thirsty?" Snow asks, taking a daring step toward her daughter.

"No."

"How old are you?"

"Why do you care!? Nobody ever cares, so stop pretending." When the blonde slides off the couch, they realize that the t-shirt twenty eight year old Emma had been sleeping in is now an oversized nightgown on the small child.

"Emma, we care." Snow says desperately. "We love you more than anything."

"No, you don't." Emma clomps up the stairs, probably presuming that if she has a bedroom, it's up there.

"What should we do?" James whispers.

"Make breakfast. If there's one thing consistent about Emma, it's that she's always hungry." Snow suggests.

"I know you're the better cook, but she likes you better, and I think I can handle putting waffles in a toaster."

"Emma broke the toaster." She states matter-of-factly.

"Okay… I can unwrap a poptart. You _still_ haven't gotten a new toaster?"

"Charming, things were a little hectic. And Emma doesn't like me better. Especially not now, since she doesn't have any recollection of who we are. I'll make her some pancakes while you make sure she doesn't run away or something."

"Okay. I can do that." On his way to find Emma, Henry nearly crashes into him.

"Grandma, can I have a poptart for the bus? I'm late."

"Yeah, here." Snow tosses him a strawberry one. "Be careful and have fun!"

* * *

"Emma?" James calls out quietly. He finds her in her room. Or rather, her room that Henry has taken over.

"Why do you have this?" The child asks, sitting on top of the bed, cradling her baby blanket close. It's the first time James has seen it since he put her into the wardrobe all those years ago, and he blinks back tears. "What did I do?" Still, Emma senses that James is upset. She has tears in her eyes, and her bottom lip is trembling, and he wants nothing more than to hold his little girl.

"Oh, Emma, nothing." Without thinking, he rushes to her and sits on the bed. "Nothing at all. I just want to help you." Well, it's not a complete lie. He's thankful that his daughter hasn't become a human lie detector yet.

"I didn't?" The blonde seems so surprised that she hasn't done anything wrong that she momentarily doesn't believe him, but then she decides that he won't gain anything from lying to her.

"No, Baby. Not at all." He wraps his arms around the daughter, and she whimpers. "Did I hurt you?" He asks worriedly.

"You didn't." Emma states glumly. "My foster dad did."

"He what!?" James can't control his anger towards a man he has never met. Emma shrinks away, and he realizes his mistake. "Baby, I'm not mad at you. I just… I'm mad at your foster dad for hurting you. You don't deserve to be hurt, ever." Even though her ribs protest, the blonde stays close to a man she doesn't know just so that he can embrace her, and she feels safe for the first time since her first family, the Swan's, got rid of her. "Emma, do you remember his name?"

"Um…" she considers the ramifications of telling James, not wanting her foster father to punish her more for telling him, but eventually says, "I think it starts with an 'S'. Not the Swan's, though. They were nice. Until they had their own kid, so they sent me back." Emma adds as an afterthought. "It might've been Smith. But I don't pay attention to who people are anymore." Well, even if they were the Smith's, it doesn't do James much good; it's the most popular last name.

"Snow asked you how old you are earlier. We didn't quite get an answer… care to tell me?" He prods gently.

"Five." The child declares proudly.

"And a five year old needs to grow." James says, taking in once again just how small she is. In fact, she doesn't look _anything_ like the Emma he knew. "How about some pancakes?"

"Really?" The hopefulness in the blonde's voice when she says the word sounds nothing like the way the adult would. It lacks the sarcasm and annoyed-ness James is so used to.

"Yeah, really. Snow's an amazing cook. Come on." He grasps her hand, and she gladly takes it. "Whenever I try to cook, I burn stuff. Once, she even kicked me out of the kitchen for a month until I took cooking lessons."

"Did you take them?" Emma asks as they slowly go down the stairs to make sure she doesn't trip.

"I did, but they weren't much help." They laugh.

"Perfect timing." Snow smiles. "The plates are on the table." Emma bounds over to a chair and climbs onto it. Snow and James take their seats at the table. The little girl looks at them, eyes darting like a ping pong ball, a sheepish expression on her face. "Are you okay?" Snow asks.

"I can't cut stuff." Emma says, looking down. Oh, right. Of course. They completely forgot that the child can't use a knife.

"Here, let me help." Snow shifts the plate so she can reach it and easily cuts the pancakes. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Emma stabs a small piece with her fork, and her eyes light up when she pops it into her mouth. "Are these chocolate chips!?"

"Yeah… is that okay?"

"I've _never_ had chocolate chip pancakes before. This is awesome."

"I'm glad you like them." Snow chuckles, exchanging a loving glance with James. He nods. "Emma, can I tell you something?"

"Did I do something wrong?" The girl instantly becomes crestfallen.

"No, not at all, Baby. If you ever did, I'd tell you, okay? Emma, you're perfect." Snow says.

"I don't understand why you guys are being so nice." She forks another bite into her mouth.

"Because… Emma, we're your parents." The adults hold their breath, waiting for their daughter's response.

"Why'd you leave me on the side of the road?" The blonde asks, eerily calm. Snow knows that that's just the calm before the storm.

"We didn't." James says desperately.

"Then why does all my foster parents tell me you did?"

"Emma, do you believe in fairytales?" Snow adds quickly, "like Disney?", remembering adult Emma making Disney references once or twice when they were in the Enchanted Forest.

"I know about them. I don't usually watch 'em, though. They're not very entertaining, with the princesses always waiting for their prince to save them." At this, Snow and James full on laugh, because that is so something the Emma they knew would say. "Are you saying they're real?"

"Yes." James smiles. "You're the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming." He puts it into terms she knows.

"So how'd I end up on the side of the road?"

"We wanted you, more than anything." Snow clarifies.

"But the Evil Queen –her name's Regina– she wanted us to be unhappy." James desperately wishes that his daughter knew who Henry is so that he can compare the situations for her. "She cast a curse that sent everyone here, to Storybrooke. Everyone except you."

"Why not me?"

"There was a wardrobe that Gepetto made. It would send you to the same world we were going to, but you wouldn't be cursed. Your destiny was to break the curse." James explains.

"How come you guys didn't look for me if you wanted me so bad? How come you didn't come to… here… with me?"

"The plan was me to go through the wardrobe while you were still in my belly." Snow says. "But you came early, and the wardrobe only took one…" her voice cracks as she replays the worst moment of her life. "We had to give you your best chance." She finishes, gaining strength from James' touch.

"Your best chance was to not be cursed." James jokes. "And if we didn't… Regina would have killed you."

"We're so sorry that you've had such a hard life. We never wanted any of that for you, but it was the only way we could keep you safe." The two finish their story. Snow silently hopes that five year old Emma is more receptive to the whole thing than twenty eight year old Emma was.

**SO THIS WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE A ONE SHOT, BUT I DECIDED TO MAKE IT A MULTICHAPTER FIC. FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!**


	2. Chapter 2

**SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!**

**I DO NOT OWN ONCE UPON A TIME. **

"I understand." Five year old Emma says. "You only wanted what was best for me. That's more than anyone else has ever wanted."

"How are you so smart?" James pokes her nose after breathing a sigh of relief.

"I dunno." The little girl shrugs. They finish their chocolate chip pancakes in a comfortable silence before Snow says,

"How would you feel about taking a little trip?"

"Where?"

"Yeah, where?" James echoes his daughter. While the blonde has child-like curiosity written on her face, James is confused.

"To see a man named Mr. Gold." Snow locks eyes with her husband.

"You promise you won't let him take me away from you?" Emma shifts her gaze between her parents.

"No one's ever going to take you away from us ever again." The brunette smiles.

"Okay." Emma chirps, hopping out of her chair. "Let me go get dressed."

"Uh, Emma!" Snow instantly rushes after her. "Wait, you don't have any clothes here!" None that will fit her, anyway. She briefly considers sticking her in one of Henry's plain t-shirts, then realizes that even those are too big. As a saving grace, Henry barrels through the door.

"Hey, guys, it's recess and I only have a few minutes, I got some clothes for Emma." He tosses a plastic bag to James. "I figures my stuff and obviously her stuff is too big. There's only a few things, but you guys can get more later. Bye!" As quickly as he came, he leaves.

"Where, exactly, did he get these?" James asks as he rummages through the bag.

"Probably asked Granny for some of Red's old things." Snow shrugs. "What's in there?" To answer her question, he holds up a red sweater and a small pair of jeans. "It's close enough to her jacket." Snow snatches them out of her husband's hands and picks Emma up with her free one. "We're gonna get you dressed, okay?"

"Who's Red?" James smiles as he listens to Emma's content voice questioning her mother.

* * *

"She wouldn't like this." James whispers from the passenger seat. Even though Emma's listening to Henry's iPod (and astounded by it), they're still not convinced that she's not listening to them.

"You're right, but we don't have another choice. But Charming, which do you think she'd rather? Have Gold see her like that or be stuck as a five year old forever –and never remember Henry again?" Snow says, taking her eyes off the road for a second to give him a pointed look that says _I'm right, and you know it_.

"Okay, I see your point. But when she goes off at us tomorrow morning when she's twenty eight again, I'm blaming you." Snow expertly parks the car and James climbs out, then unbuckles their daughter. "We also need to get a car seat."

"I highly doubt she'll be staying like that." Snow says. "Besides, aren't you the one who said Henry needs his mother?"

"Yeah, I did." He sighs. The bell to the Pawn Shop jingles.

"Put me down." Emma squirms, desperate to be free from her father's arms. He sets her down.

"Don't touch anything, okay?"

" 'Kay." The blonde mumbles, her eyes taking in every part of the store.

"To what do I owe the –_oh_." For once, Mr. Gold is speechless. "Is that Miss Swan?"

"How do you know my name?" Emma whirls around and crosses her arms at the man before her.

"That answers my question." The imp smirks. "Let me guess: you want to know how to undo it?"

"Undo what?" The blonde asks, turning back around to eye her parents before once again turning her gaze to Mr. Gold. James fixes him with a hard glare before saying,

"Emma, can you wait outside for a moment?"

"David, I don't think that's safe. What if Regina–"

"Regina doesn't know about this. No one's going to recognize her." James says. "Emma, just scream if someone tries to hurt you, okay?"

"Okay." The girl steps out into the sunlight, closing the door behind her.

"She doesn't know that she used to be twenty eight. Hell, she doesn't even know about Henry." Snow isn't one to swear, but sometimes there's just no going around it. "All she knows is that her parents are us."

"Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan?"

"No. Snow and James." The prince clarifies. "So she's aware of the curse. She knows how she got here. What did you do?"

"Why do you assume I did something?" Mr. Gold plasters mock hurt on his face. At the other two's unamused stares, he turns serious. "I can see why you'd be privy to think I had something to do with this interesting development, but I can assure you I didn't. And to answer your next question, everyone's favorite mayor didn't, either."

"Okay, so how do we fix it?" Snow fixes him with a cold look.

"Well, in order to fix something, one must know what the problem is."

"Quit screwing around, Gold." James lunges for the man, but Snow pulls him back.

"You'll scare her." She whispers. Then she turns her hard stare to Mr. Gold. "What. Is. The. Problem?"

"Magic, Dearie. As I'm sure you are aware, your daughter is magic."

"That's why Cora couldn't rip her heart out." Snow nods. "Yeah, we know about that."

"Good. And as we learned with Henry after he ate Regina's apple turnover, magic behaves differently here."

"Stop telling us things we already know." James snaps. "Just cut to the chase."

"Very well. I don't know what the problem is." He pauses for dramatic effect, watching Snow and James' jaws clench in anger. "Miss Swan is quite a novelty. I've only met one other person born from true love."

"Cora." Snow helpfully supplies.

"You get an A plus for the day." Mr. Gold quips. "But even her heart can be taken."

"So Emma's different." James says.

"Yes."

"Why?" the brunette demands.

"I believe she was conceived because of Lake Nostos." Mr. Gold giggles. He can't wait to see the drama he's about to stir up.

"Yes." Snow sighs.

"Snow? What didn't you tell me?" James asks.

"I'll explain later." She says. "Go on."

"I'm assuming that has something to do with it."

"You're not making any sense." James grumbles, running a hand through his hair. Snow places a calming hand on his shoulder.

"I'll put it simply: we're all screwed." Mr. Gold says without a trace of amusement.

"How so?" Snow asks.

"Without Miss Swan, Cora has the advantage."

"Please tell me you were _not_ thinking about putting my daughter in danger." Snow glares.

"Well…" Mr. Gold says in a sing-song voice, "She can't be killed magically. So unless Team Evil learns how to use modern weaponry, we'd have had a chance."

"Wait… so you're saying all we'd have been able to do was hold them off?"

"Unless we taught Miss Swan how to use her magic. Then we'd have won."

"Did you see it?" Snow moves closer, but in a nonthreatening way. She's simply curious. "In a vision?"

"Not exactly" He smiles genuinely. "Let's just say this: you two are her parents and she's Emma Swan."

**I KNOW THIS WAS MAINLY PLOT AND NOT REALLY FLUFF, BUT I FEEL AS THOUGH THIS WAS REALLY IMPORTANT. **


	3. Chapter 3

**SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. LIFE HAS BEEN REALLY BUSY FOR ME.**

**DON'T OWN IT.**

_"Without Miss Swan, Cora has the advantage."_

_"Please tell me you were __not__ thinking about putting my daughter in danger." Snow glares._

_"Well…" Mr. Gold says in a sing-song voice, "She can't be killed magically. So unless Team Evil learns how to use modern weaponry, we'd have had a chance."_

_"Wait… so you're saying all we'd have been able to do was hold them off?"_

_"Unless we taught Miss Swan how to use her magic. Then we'd have won."_

_"Did you see it?" Snow moves closer, but in a nonthreatening way. She's simply curious. "In a vision?"_

_"Not exactly" He smiles genuinely. "Let's just say this: you two are her parents and she's Emma Swan."_

* * *

That's the closest Gold has ever come to giving someone a compliment, so James and Snow don't take it lightly.

"So, then wouldn't it make sense that Cora would, I don't know, do this?" Snow says sarcastically. This time, it's James who initiates the contact to calm her down.

"The thing you're missing, Dearie, is that Cora is full of herself. She's too proud. She'd want an even playing field, and your daughter being a five year old is most certainly not even. Advantage, them."

"So did _you_ do it, to hold off the attack?" James asks.

"We've already been through this: no." Gold snaps, his eyes fixed on James'. "Don't you think I want to get this over with?"

"I suppose." The other man sighs.

"And why would I risk Regina or Hook attacking?"

"You wouldn't." James sighs again, raking a hand through his short sandy hair.

"So, are you saying Emma did this on her own?"

"As I said before, I have no idea what happened. Now, if I were you, I wouldn't leave my daughter out there too long unsupervised." With that, Gold stares them down.

"Come on." Snow gently tugs at her husband. "Let's see if Emma wants to get ice cream."

* * *

"Why'd I have to leave?" Is the first thing Emma asks when her parents walk out of the pawn shop.

"Just… cause…" Snow doesn't know how to respond. On one hand, she doesn't want to scare the child, but on the other she doesn't want to lie, either.

"How about some ice cream?" Prince Charming to the rescue.

"Okay!" Emma chirps, happily skipping down the sidewalk a few paces ahead of them.

"Shouldn't we be holding her hand or something?" James asks his wife.

"She's within our sight, Charming. Besides, she might be little, but she's still Emma. She'll be fine."

"I love you." He intertwines their hands.

"I love you, too. And ice cream… I knew there was a reason I married you." Snow steals a kiss from her true love.

* * *

Of course, upon sitting down at a booth in the diner, Emma does not drop her earlier inquiry.

"You never answered my question." She says, then goes back to humming as her eyes scan the menu. Snow and James lock eyes for a moment before he says,

"It was a grown-up thing."

"I'm five." Emma looks up seriously, staring both her parents down to prove her point.

"Add twenty five years to that." James laughs, and the blonde immediately spits out,

"Thirty." Even Snow, who has seen brilliant kids in her class from being a teacher, gasps.

"Emma, you do you know that?"

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, not at all. I'm just curious." Then, Snow's eyes light up, "Like Curious George."

"I don't know." The girl shrugs, looking down at her ice cream options once again. "I think I'll get a sundae, but with chocolate ice cream and no cherry." Inwardly, Snow chuckles. The Emma she knew had a bit of a chocolate addiction. Some things never change.

"Hey, guys, sorry to keep you wait– _whoa_." Ruby skids to a stop. "Hey, Snow, I need some help out back." Without waiting for permission, the werewolf grabs her friend's wrist and drags her to the back laundry room. "What. The. _Hell_?"

"It's a long story."

"Is she Emma? Because she's _tiny_ and so cute and… I heard her humming and her legs were swinging… oh Gods, it really is Emma isn't it?"

"Yeah." Snow smiles at her friend, then proudly through the closed door to where her daughter is. "Isn't she something?"

"Did Regina, Cora, or Gold do it?"

"None of them. Gold has no idea how it happened, but just _look_ at her! She's five, Red. And she's perfect, not that she wasn't at twenty eight, but she's a child and not a full grown woman."

"I can see that." Ruby looks at her friend seriously. "Hey, Snow, what're you thinking? I know you can't be thinking that you're going to keep her like that. What about Henry, does he know?"

"Yeah, he's quite amused by it." Snow expertly sidesteps the first question.

"Snow." Ruby fixes the smaller woman with a stern look.

"Yes, I know we can't keep her this way but she's fun. A little hard to manage, but fun. It's so obvious how much of Charming and I's daughter she is. I mean, I have no idea where her hair came from, since my mother's was black, and even Ruth's was a caramel…"

"Snow." Ruby says again, her hands gripping her friend's forearms. "I know this is exciting, and I can't even begin to imagine what you're feeling right now, but you can't get attached to her five year old self. This won't last."

"But what if when she turns back to twenty eight, she'll remember us from when she was five? What if, because we're nice to her, it changes her life and her thoughts and everything… about her." Snow says quietly, realization suddenly hitting her. "As much as I love this Emma, she's not _Emma_. She's not my Emma. What if we can't get her back? I mean, we _just_ got her back a few months ago and I know David and I wanted this, we wanted to have a chance to raise Emma but we never… it was just wishes, because it could never happen… until I did. Red, I know what we _should_ do. We _should_ find a way to get her back to twenty eight."

"But you don't _want_ to." Ruby says softly, her eyes shining with understanding.

"I do and I don't. I will always love Emma, no matter how old she is, I just… The way she is now, yes, she's more fun, she's giggly. She's a little girl. But the Emma I know had her fun moments, too… it's just different." Snow sighs at the fact that she can't explain her thoughts very eloquently.

"You fell in love with twenty eight year old Emma first." The brunette helpfully supplies.

"Yeah." Snow agrees. "Well, to be more correct, I fell in love with baby Emma first…"

"But you didn't get to know her. You only know the Emma I know. So seeing five year old Emma is a shock, because you never got to know her."

"And now I can." Snow immediately says.

"I'm assuming you told her about the curse and why you and James had to give her up?"

"Yes."

"Then this Emma now, she isn't really Emma. Our Emma's life experiences have made her who she is… this little girl knowing that she _was_ loved and _was_ very much wanted will not become them Emma you and I know. She won't be _your daughter_, because she won't be _Emma_." Ruby sighs. "Look, Snow, I can't imagine how hard this is for you and James. But there really shouldn't be any question –Emma would want to be returned to her twenty eight year old state so she can be a mother to her son. And as you said, maybe this experience… she'll retain it. Maybe only she went back in time and ended up in Storybrooke… whatever happened, maybe her childhood won't have been as crappy as it was and maybe she'll be less… closed off when she gets old again. Maybe not. Either way, you know what you have to do. Now go out there and enjoy the day with your daughter."

"Thanks, Red." Snow smiles, pulling her friend into a quick embrace before walking back to her family, minus Henry, of course. James gives her a questioning look, silently asking what's going on. The smile playing at her lips tells him to drop it, that everything's fine. "Charming, did you decide what you want to get?"

"Vanilla." The man answers, and Emma's jaw drops.

"That's it?"

"Yup." Her father smiles at her.

"That's boring." The girl starts humming again, watching people pass outside the window.

"What about you, Darling?" He snakes an arm around his wife.

"Me? I think I'm going to get a peanut butter cup sundae." Right on cue, Ruby bounces over and pulls out her little notebook.

"What can I get you guys?" Snow almost laughs at the formality. Of course Emma's godmother, and, for all intents and purposes, aunt, doesn't know how to act around the five year old.

"I'll take a peanut butter cup sundae, please." Snow gathers the menus and hands them to the other woman.

"Vanilla in a dish, please. Thank you."

"Um, can I have a regular sundae, but with no cherry and instead of vanilla ice cream, chocolate, please?" The blonde stammers. At this, Snow and James exchange a concerned glance. Even at this age (though they've only known her like this for roughly ten hours), they know that Emma is most certainly _not_ shy. She doesn't talk to people simply because she chooses not to. So why is Emma so nervous? And then it hits them: this is probably the first time she's ever been out to eat.

"Sure thing, Kiddo." Ruby grins. "Though, that doesn't seem so 'regular', does it? But I think it's a good idea. Maybe I can talk to my Granny to see if we can add it to them menu. We'd call it the Emma Sundae."

"How do you know my name?" That seems to be the girl's favorite question as of late.

"Your mom and I are best friends." Ruby answers.

"Hey, Red, you might as well add two cocoas to that–"

"And a coffee for Mr. Charming over there, yeah I know." The brunette smirks. "And yes, Emma, I'll put cinnamon on it. You mom gets the same thing." Without another word, Ruby bounds off.

"How does she know all that?" Emma stares after her in wonder.

"We're best friends." Snow reiterates the other woman's point, then frowns when she realizes why Emma's confused. Emma has never had a best friend –or a friend at all, for that matter– until her (or, more correctly, Mary Margaret). "We're practically sisters."

"Oh. It must be nice to have a sister." Emma begins rearranging the various knives, forks, and spoons on the table.

"I wouldn't know." Snow puts on her best smile, trying to ignore her heart, which is aching for her daughter. "I don't have any siblings."

"I had a twin brother." James says, "But he died before I ever met him. So I don't know, either."

"Well, that's okay." Emma genuinely smiles, and just like that, Snow's heart is warm once again. "We have each other now, and that's all that matters."

"Yes, it is." James and Snow agree simultaneously.

"I have a question."

"Yes, Honey?"

"Is Henry my brother?" Emma asks just as Ruby returns with their cold treats. The only thing keeping her from dumping the whole tray as she doubles over in a fit of laughter is the twenty eight years of waitressing and her werewolf reflexes. "I mean, it's okay if he is. You and Dad needed to give me up so that I could have my best chance, and I don't blame you for it. I know you wanted me, and you would have looked for me if the curse hadn't erased your memory."

"No, Sweetie, Henry is not your brother." Snow chokes out. Because of the three adults laughing at her, Emma crosses her arms.

"Thanks." She says to Ruby, then picks up a spoon and digs in. Snow wonders how she and James will answer this, seeing as their daughter never lets anything go. Having another one of their silent eye conversations, Snow and James briefly talk about having Henry live with Regina until they get Emma sorted out, but James immediately shoots the idea down. They then settle for a half truth.

"He's my friend's son. She needs us to watch him for a little while." Snow says. And once upon a time, he was. Back when Emma and Mary Margaret were just roommates and friends, that was what Henry was: her friend's son. And Emma really_ does_ need her and James to watch him since she can't.

"Let's not let our ice cream melt." James flashes his two girls his signature grin. With that, the family starts to work through their giant mounds of ice cream.


	4. Chapter 4

**SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE.**

**DON'T OWN IT.**

After paying for their ice cream, Snow and James each take one of Emma's hands in their own and start walking to the car. Once bucking their daughter safely in the back seat, Snow climbs into the back next to her and James hops into the command chair. Emma lets out a small yawn and Snow smiles.

"Getting a little tired, are we?"

"Nope." The blonde shakes her little head.

"Stubborn like her mother." James steals a quick glance in the review mirror to look at his girls before redirecting his attention back to the road. Snow huffs, crossing her arms. "That was a compliment, My Love." He explains. As her eyelids grow heavy, Emma says quietly,

"I'll take a little nap if you guys read me a bedtime story." At this, the brunette's face lights up.

"Of course, Sweetie. Of course."

* * *

Emma sits on her bed, clad in a small, red t-shirt and matching flannel pants. As James walks in, she yawns.

"Remember, you promised you'd tell me a story."

"We didn't forget." Snow smiles, locking eyes with her husband.

"Nope."

"Good. Will you tuck me in?" At this, Snow gasps.

"Definitely." Emma crawls under the covers and Snow pulls them up to her chin.

"And… can you guys lay next to me?" she asks hesitantly. Snow notes that it isn't so much that the little girl is embarrassed by asking her parents to lay with her, as twenty eight year old Emma would be, but that she's never had anyone lay with her and doesn't know how to ask.

"I can never say 'no' to my little girl, can I?" James beams, jumping on to the bed next to his daughter, shoes and all. Snow's grateful that she got a full bed instead of a twin as she sets herself down on the opposite side of Emma.

"Do you still want a story?" The brunette asks, stroking her daughter's hair.

"Mhm." The little girl nodded enthusiastically as best she could while laying down.

"Hmm… Charming, what do you think we should tell her?" After a moment of pondering his wife's question, James respond with,

"I have an idea. How would you like to hear about how your mom and I met?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay." The adults chuckles.

"How do we start?" Snow sighs.

"Is it really that complicated?" Emma asks.

"Yup." James smiles. "So… I was in my carriage minding my own business riding down the road when your mom robbed me."

"_Actually_, I wasn't really stealing. It was a _mistake_–"

"Wait. _Snow White_ didn't just wait in a glass coffin to be woken up by some random prince?" Emma's eyes are wide.

"That's not the whole story, Sweetie." Snow smiles. "I think that's another chapter for another time, though."

"I agree. Now where was I? Oh, right. I got out to confront this unknown robber, and she hits me with a rock. You see this scar here?" He proudly displays his chin. "That was your mom's doing."

"It was self-defense." Snow rolls her eyes.

"Self-defense!?" James cries indignantly. "I was the one who was being robbed!" At this, Emma giggles.

"You two are funny." She says, closing her eyes. She lets out a small, content sigh as she snuggles deeper into the blankets, comforted by her parents' presence.

"Emma, Honey, understand that I wasn't actually stealing. What I was meaning to do was steal things that actually belonged to me. They were mine before Regina unjustly banished me."

"What does unjustly mean?" The blonde's quiet voice asks.

"Wrongfully." Snow answers, stroking her daughter's hair.

"Oh…" With a final word, Emma's breathing evens out and she drifts off to sleep.

"Sleep tight, my love." The brunette kisses Emma's head, and James does the same.

"We love you." He whispers. As husband and wife make their way downstairs, Henry opens the front door.

"Henry, just be quiet, okay? Emma's taking a nap." Snow smiles.

"I can't picture Mom ever taking a nap…" The boy giggles, then places his backpack by the door and kicks off his sneakers.

"Remember, she's five." James says. "What do you want for a snack?"

"Gogurt?" He asks hopefully.

"Sure, Kid." James gives his grandson a quick, one-armed hug and sets off to find the latter's snack. "Strawberry or banana?"

"Banana, please."

"Banana it is." He smiles as he hands Henry the gogurt. "How was school?"

"Well, it was kinda hard to concentrate cause I couldn't stop thinking about Emma."

"I bet." James chuckles and leans against the counter. "You're a lot like her, you know. Very curious."

"Gramps…" Henry pauses for a moment to squirt some yogurt into his mouth and think about his word choice. "I didn't like not having Emma and Mary Margaret here, not for a second and I don't want this to sound like I did like it, but if I had to choose someone to be stuck here with without my mom… I'm glad it was you."

"Ah, Henry…" The older man smiles. "That means a lot. Thank you. It was nice having you around, too."

"And now we get to be a family. All together." Henry beams, but James sees how the boy's eyes don't light up like they usually do.

"Henry." He slides onto the stool next to him. "Emma's going to grow back up."

"But… I thought that you and Grandma want her this way?"

"You know, surprisingly, not as much as you'd think. Snow and I, of course, wish we could get the time we missed with Emma back. At the same time, though, we love the woman she's become. We're so immensely proud of her. Twenty eight year old Emma is who we have. She's _my_ daughter. This is hard to explain, but I wouldn't trade who she is for who this little Emma is. Having Emma like this, well… it's not really her." James leaves out the part about how his grandson needs his mother. That would just make Henry feel guilty.

"But August and Marco got a do-over." Henry frowns, trying to understand. As wise and smart and mature as he is, he doesn't have the experience of parenthood.

"They did." James nods in agreement. "But Gepetto will never know who his son_ really_ is. Snow and I aren't interested in the _what could have been's_ or the _what if's_ with Emma. We love her for who she is."

"I agree with everything your charming grandfather said." Snow says, nodding. "I wouldn't trade the Emma I know for the world."

Unbeknownst to the other members of her family, a full-grown, twenty eight year old Emma sat at the base of the stairs within earshot, shielded from view by a wall, with silent, happy tears streaming down her cheeks.


End file.
